THE ONGOING OCEANO DUNES TRAVESTY
Lyndi Love-Haning
THE FACTS...OR LACK THEREOF
The fight to keep the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) open has been going on for decades. Secret meetings, numerous lawsuits, political corruption combined with a suspicious cast of characters have defined this constantly evolving drama. The ongoing saga would be the perfect plot for a fictional drama.

Unfortunately, this is a reality that we, as off-roaders, can no longer sit back and watch. Closure of the dunes, or portions of the dunes is not good manage- ment and this situation is in dire need to be managed. As fellow off-roaders, this issue must be near and dear to everyone’s hearts and minds!

This is the current battle: ODSVRA vs. a handful of rich and retired residents living in a new million-dollar subdivision on a mesa downwind of Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes SVRA. These ‘red shirts literally wear red shirts to represent the color of the air alert on the San Luis Obispo Air Pollution Control District (APCD) website when there is a bad air quality day. The red shirts’ main claim is that OHV activity has destroyed vegetation that existed in 1930 and furthermore claim vehicles break up fine crust that forms on the dunes, resulting in the park being more emissive than other areas. The red shirts say that increased emissivity results in particulate matter smaller than 10 microns (PM10) steadily blowing into their homes and lungs, causing pulmonary issues.

There are many flaws with this theory, but here are the main problems:
• After millions of tax dollars spent and a decade of studies, the actual percentage of emissions caused by OHV activity has not been identified.
• Off -shore sources of emissions have been identified but largely ignored. This calls into question whether the OHV park is a major source of emissions or simply a path between offshore sources and the Mesa.
• The data being used to create emissions modeling is from 2013 and has not been updated with information collected over the past 5 years. The model has also not been tested or validated as appropriate to use in this manner
• Most complaints come from residents living in homes surrounded by agricultural fields, ongoing construction, dirt roads and open sand sheets. In fact, the Specific Plan and Environmental Impact report for the master planned community at issue warned that ongoing construction activities would cause significant air quality issues to residents.
• Most of the people complaining of health issues related to air quality have moved to the area within the last 10 years and have no proof that what they are experiencing is not related to pre-existing conditions.
• The red shirts initially complained of crystalline silica, a small particulate matter that causes lung cancer. Crystalline silica was tested for on many separate occasions by the APCD and State Parks. The samples were tested in accordance to OSHA standards and were all found to not exceed limits. The red shirts quickly changed their complaint to any particulate matter smaller than 10 microns.

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Butch
Hodaka Ace 90. I've been riding these things too long. What can I say? How about that Combat Wombat?